Algebra

One of my friends is good at maths and wants to teach his seven year old daughter algebra for his own personal amusement, I believe. And he has already started. From what I understand she can work out the answers so far.

Who here thinks that he should carry on behaving like this and who thinks he should stop? He knows that she can't use it in school and that she'll no doubt forget it. Presumably it's neither harming nor helping her. He just finds it fun.

Mummytime, I don't know if you ever watch the Christmas Lectures on BBC television from the Royal Institution, but they are great. Worth recording and watching with your children when you can explain what's happening. Don't worry if you don't understand everything yourself.

This year they were on chemistry. I am sure your child would have loved them.

I think if we start early enough we can teach children all sorts of weird and wonderful things. I was at the BETT exhibition last week and bought some software that demonstrates principles in optics and electricity. I bought it for my five year old grandson, but it was originally designed for A level. By carefully choosing the bits I show him and adding a little explanation of my own, he is beginning to understand how it all fits.

When he was just four my son (his uncle) and I were talking to him and he suddenly opened his eyes wide, closed them, turned his head to the side and opened them again. When we asked him what he was doing, he said he was letting the light into his eyes, he closed them to catch the light and he then let it out in a different direction. It's surprising how close this is to reality!

I def believe in following the desires of the child. However, I think that its also worth him looking at going sideways in maths, it helps deepen their understanding. Problem solving is a really good way to go.Send him over to nrich

My dd who is also just 7 has recently asked me what 'albrega' is. I showed her something really basic a=1 b=2 and c=3 so a+b =c and she was entranced! Wish I hadn't now as she's desperate to do harder albrega

Mmmm........strongly believe in being child led here. As an example of stuff that ds wants to learn that is not particularly relevant to life is his pleading that we buy him a book on Egyptian heiroglyphics for Christmas! But then is n't that what education is for - to set us up for happy and fulfilled lives, in whatever direction we may choose to take.

IME there are those who like teaching their children accademic thing and those who don't. Being someone who does like teaching their child, I sometimes find it hard to see the opposite view, but I do see it is every parent's choice.

Squeebles are brilliant full stop. DD sees a dose of them as a treat, not learning number bonds. Off to look at Dragonbox now.

To answer the OP, learning something that is no use in school strikes me as a positive benefit. I'm all for That Kind of Thing; the NC is starting to feel as though it were handed down by Moses rather than drawn up by a set of rather imperfect civil servants.

On which note, DD is currently learning to greet various family members and toys in Latin, a skill which is no use at all in daily life but a) interesting to her because she likes books about Romans and b) hilarious. Now that I've started, can you share all your wierd stuff too?

I've toyed with doing algebra with dd (7) because she is pretty good at maths and slightly obsessed with language - i.e. what is it, how is it constructed, and I think algebra would appeal to that curiosity.

''I teach my geeky children all kinds of weird shit. And they usually remember it.''

I think it's a great idea. Why shouldn't he? If his dd learns it as a bit of fun now it won't be a horrible chore to have to learn it under pressure later. She's sure not to forget it esp learning under relaxed conditions.

I have secret at people who are good at maths. Algebra esp made no sense to me at all Luckily my dc seem to understand it, they must get that from dh not me

The question is not whether he finds it fun, but whether she does! If so, then no harm at all.

My two know a bit about algebra. They are 9 and 10 now but have done for a while. But we've never taught them it a 'let's sit down and learn algebra' kind of way. It just kind of comes up in conversation somehow...

We're both quite mathematical and our children are quite able but nothing way out of the ordinary.